KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Wednesday acquitted Uzair Baloch, chief of the outlawed Peoples Aman Committee, for want of evidence in a case pertaining to the recovery of unlicensed weapons.

The alleged Lyari kingpin was implicated in the case after prime accused Saifal, who was arrested for possessing illegal arms, explosives and bullets, allegedly confessed during interrogation that Uzair Baloch and Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla had facilitated the transportation of weapons.

On the basis of Saifal’s statement, police booked Uzair under Section 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence side, the magistrate acquitted Uzair and ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish its case against him beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“Accused Uzair Baloch son of Faiz Muhammad is hereby acquitted under Section 245(i) of the CrPC. As he is produced in custody, he is remanded back to jail along with his release order,” the court ruled.

The court directed the prison authorities to release him if he was not required in any other case.

However, Uzair is to remain in jail as dozens of cases are still pending against him in various courts.

Regarding the prime accused, Saifal, the court noted that he had already been declared a proclaimed offender.

During the trial, defence counsel Haider Farooq Jatoi argued that the allegations against his client were baseless and that police had falsely implicated him.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2025